Christmas Lunch

What's the best way to spend a rainy Christmas day?  In pj's, of course!  I was too tired and it was too rainy to dress up so the kids wore their Christmas pj's to Neena and Stephen's house and I wore a very comfy and very warm sweat suit.  If the food looks the same as what we ate at Thanksgiving that's because Neena made the exact same thing for Christmas.  Why change it up?   What's really sad is that we didn't touch the desserts.

My mother (aka Neena) has always been a clean freak (my whole entire life!) but it seems like this disorder is getting worse.  When I dropped off gifts the other day, she didn't have one present under her tiny tree but I knew she had already bought all of them so, of course, I had to ask about them.  She said they are in the closet because the cat would eat the bows and it would have been too much clutter.  What?!?!  Who keeps Christmas gifts in the closet until it's time to pass them out???  Only my mother!  She's never done this before and she's always had cats.  What is going on?  Am I the only person that thinks this is strange?  I'm shocked she left the presents I brought over under the tree.  I guess she didn't care if the cat ate my bows.  Anyway, Neena and Wendy pulled presents out of the closet and passed them out.

It's more fun watching the kids unwrap their presents so Beck, Kinsey and Wendy opened their gifts first.   

Kinsey is just like me...she loves clothes!!!  She had to put on the beautiful dress from Neena and Stephen.

Stephen helped open the bag that had a giant Minnie Mouse in it for Kinsey.

Wendy loves Justin Bieber so I got her a Justin Bieber poster and blanket and our Aunt Vickie got her the Justin Bieber perfume.  Brent helped me find a couple of video games that she wanted and she is super happy about getting those.

The last trip Mom and Stephen made to Costa Rica was to sell their house and they also picked up a Christmas gift for Brent and this is the all-time perfect gift for him.  I'm so shocked she didn't tell me about it.  A machete with a hand-made leather sheath which is awesome looking.  Can you tell he loves it?

There is one gift that I spent many, many hours making for Mom and Stephen and that is a customized calendar.  It has a picture of almost everybody in our family on their birthday along with pictures of the kids for each holiday and each month.  And, the pictures I used for each month were taken on that month of the previous year.  For example, when she looks at February, it will include pictures that I took in February 2012.  It was a lot of fun to make because I got to look at older pictures of the kids and realized how much they have changed.

The other present that I couldn't wait for them to open is the giant woven throw that has pictures of the kids taken at Easter, at the beach and after the kids saw the first Santa in Allen during the Thanksgiving weekend.

Now, it's time to play with our toys!

Thank you Neena and Stephen for lunch and all of our gifts!  Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Morning

12.25.12

We woke up to some serious rain which really puts a damper on what the kids received for Christmas and Kiki and Pops ventured out in this yucky weather to watch the kids open their gifts. Beck and Kinsey waited patiently in the hallway while we all got our cameras ready.   (Notice that Kinsey is wearing Beck's socks.  She pulled them out of his drawer and put them on before going to bed.  She loves her big brother SO much.)

Beck, being the oldest, got to check out what Santa brought first.

Kinsey did an awesome job of waiting for her turn.  She didn't get that from me because I would have been trying to peek around the corner.

Pops was a big help taking toys out of boxes.

Beck's very own Optimus Prime pillow!

I think Kinsey's favorite gift is the lip balm!

Unfortunately, the kids could not play on the trampoline that Santa brought.

And, Santa brought Pops a golf cart that got stuck in the mud.

The kids rode their vehicles in the house!

And, they decided to eat breakfast in their tent. 

As a little girl, I remember opening gifts Christmas morning then heading to Grandma's house and that's exactly what we did.  Luckily, we only have to travel about 20 minutes because the weather is still yucky. 

Christmas Eve

12.24.12

We spent Christmas Eve at Kiki and Pops house and enjoyed spending time with the family.  There were many delicious desserts to sample and I think my favorite is the chocolate pie.  I love chocolate!

Devin and his sweet wife, Sierra.

Story time...Laura shared her recent reality tv audition experience with us.  How impressive!  One day, this girl is going to be famous!

Aunt Karen, Rachel (traveled from Louisiana to be here with us tonight) and Laura.

Beck and Kinsey wanted me to take their picture in front of the Christmas tree too.

Badger misses Nanny so much.  Beck and Kinsey love petting Badger.

Sorry this picture is blurry but I just love the expression on Kinsey's face, I love the big smile on Brent's face and I love the way he's embracing his two little angels.

Beck and Kinsey did a great job helping Nanny open her Christmas gift.

It's tradition to get Christmas pj's on Christmas Eve from Kiki and Pops.  Kinsey was so excited that she quickly took off her clothes to put on her new pj's!  As always, super cute pj's and I can't wait to see all of our nieces and nephews wear them.

I was torn between these two pictures.  One was taken with my big fancy camera and one was taken with my iPhone camera.  I love you Brent, Beck and Kinsey very, very much!

A big thanks to Kiki and Pops for putting this together!  We really enjoyed spending time with the family and we look forward to spending time with the Mask family and the Bishop family in three days.  Christmas is tomorrow!!! 

Two Days Til Christmas

12.23.12

We have been doing a Twelve Days Til Christmas countdown by letting the kids open a little gift each night.  Last night, I gave them each a fun Christmas pen, a Santa coloring book and a 1,000 sticker Christmas book which kept them entertained during church this morning. 




We took a few pictures after church.




Then, we picked up lunch from Sonic and ate with Nanny.  She loved seeing the kids all dressed up.

Only 2 days til Christmas!

Galleria Mall

12.22.12

Since we are in Dallas, we decided to take a trip to the Galleria mall to check out the beautiful Christmas tree located in the middle of the ice rink.  Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the double stroller so we are all walking today.  Well, I know three of us that will be walking and I know one little girl will tell us that her legs are broken so she can be carried.  I love all of the decorations this time of the year!

At the skating rink, there were groups of girls that had just finished taking skating classes and they were showing off what they had learned.  What a treat!  Beck and Kinsey loved watching them skate.

Escalators are so much fun!!!

Beck and Kinsey especially loved the roller coaster video ride that cost $1.  Then, we made our way to Santa and got some pictures for us and the grandparents.  We had to bribe Kinsey with a sucker to get her to sit in Santa's lap.  (I wanted to go in the Tiffany store but there wasn't time for that kind of shopping.)

The kids had a blast in the play area then we ate lunch.  At 1pm, a circus performance began and we watched it from the 3rd level.  The little 30 minute show was quite impressive.  Beck's favorite part was when the two clowns spit water on each other.

After the show, the performers handed out a red sponge nose...too funny!

We spent a total of four hours here and Brent was done plus the kids were ready for a nap.  What a fun-filled weekend in Dallas!  Only 3 days til Christmas!